8 pm: Dance

The two-night festival of contemporary choreography is called DanceWest for short because its full, official name may well be the most excruciating pileup of verbiage in the entire arts world: “The Western U.S. platform of the Seventh Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis.” (Whew.) Boiled down, it means that six companies from Seattle, the Bay Area and the Southland have been chosen to compete for a chance to perform at a prestigious French festival in May. But they’ve got to outclass entrants from 41 other international “platforms” because there’s room for only about 15 winners at the biannual event.

* DanceWest, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Cal State Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, 8 p.m. (featuring ODC/San Francisco, the Maureen Whiting Company and Diavolo Dance Theatre). Also Saturday, 8 p.m. (featuring Rosanna Gamson/World Wide, KT/Dance and Hae Kyung Lee and Dancers). $15 (students, seniors) to $30. (323) 343-6600.

all day: Movies

The New York Film Critics Circle pulled a proverbial rabbit out of its hat when it named “Topsy-Turvy” the best film of 1999. Never heard of it? That’s because distributor USA Films released the movie for only one week in December so it could qualify for prestigious critics awards as well as the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. Now the film is opening in wider release. Here’s what Times film critic Kenneth Turan said about “Topsy-Turvy” when it debuted Dec. 15: “British writer-director Mike Leigh brings his peerless sense of character and concern for emotional authenticity to the real-life story of operetta kings Gilbert and Sullivan. Superlative production values enhance a fascinating take on the mysterious intricacies of the creative process.”

* “Topsy-Turvy,” which is rated R for a scene of risque nudity, opens Friday at selected theaters.

8 pm: Theater

There is a sense of history in Howard Korder’s “The Hollow Lands,” which traces a restless Irish immigrant’s decades-long trek across the American wilderness during the first half of the 19th century. There is a sense of historical circularity in South Coast Repertory commissioning this world premiere as its first production of the ‘00s. In January 1990, SCR kicked off the previous decade with a play it had commissioned Korder to write. “Search and Destroy” won the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Award for best new play and was made into a 1995 film with Griffin Dunne, Ileanna Douglas, Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper.

* “The Hollow Lands,” South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Feb. 13. $18 to $47. (714) 708-5555.

all day: Movies

“The Madness of Ken Russell,” a one-week retrospective of six of the outrageous British director’s movies, kicks off at the Nuart with a double feature of Russell’s 1971 Tchaikovsky biopic, “The Music Lovers,” which stars Richard Chamberlain as the famous Russian composer, and “Women in Love,” Russell’s acclaimed 1969 film version of the D.H. Lawrence novel. The film stars Glenda Jackson (who garnered an Oscar for her performance as an amoral socialite), Alan Bates and Oliver Reed. The series will continue through Jan. 20.

* “The Madness of Ken Russell,” Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles. Friday: “The Music Lovers” (new 35mm print), 7:15 p.m.; “Women in Love” (new 35mm print), 4:45 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: “The Music Lovers,” 2:15 and 7:15 p.m.; “Women in Love,” 11:45 a.m., 4:45 and 9:45 p.m. Monday: “Crimes of Passion” (unrated director’s cut; no one under the age of 18 will be admitted), 3 and 7:30 p.m.; “The Devils,” 12:50, 5:20 and 9:45 p.m. Tuesday: “Crimes of Passion,” 7:30 p.m.; “The Devils,” 5:20 and 9:45 p.m. Wednesday and Jan. 20: “Tommy,” 7:30 p.m.; “The Lair of the White Worm,” 5:35 and 9:40 p.m. $5.25 to $8.50. (310) 478-6379.

8 pm: Theater

Carol Lawrence and Joseph Campanella head the cast in the West Coast premiere of “Over the River and Through the Woods,” Joe Di Pietro’s comedy about a couple’s attempts to keep their grandson from accepting an out-of-state career change. It’s launching the long-awaited El Portal Center’s inaugural main-stage season.

* “Over the River and Through the Woods,” El Portal Center, Mainstage, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Tuesdays-Wednesdays, Sundays, 7 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Feb. 9. $35 to $42. (818) 508-4200; (800) 233-3123.

8 pm: Music

Star Baroque violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock is the soloist when Musica Angelica plays its opening concert of 2000, a Vivaldi program, Friday through Sunday. Blumenstock will play “The Four Seasons.” Recorder player Judith Linsenberg and countertenor Jason Snyder are also featured.

* Musica Angelica plays its Vivaldi program, All Saints’ Church, 504 N. Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, 8 p.m. $25. Also Saturday at 8 p.m. at Holliston Church, 1305 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, and Sunday at 4 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1220 2nd St., Santa Monica. (213) 380-8132.

Freebies

Vintage and platinum photographs by legendary photographer and cinematographer Karl Struss go on view Friday at Paul Kopeikin Gallery, 138 N. La Brea Ave., West Hollywood. Ends Feb. 22. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. An opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. (323) 937-9765.

Keyboardist Alan Pasqua and drummer Peter Erskine lead a combo at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. L.A. 5:30-8:30 p.m. (323) 857-6000.